


A New Player Enters

by katrinawritesthings



Series: D&D au [1]
Category: SHINee
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, NB, Nonbinary, OT5, Other, Polyamory, Trans, taemplants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-10-22 01:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10686765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katrinawritesthings/pseuds/katrinawritesthings
Summary: listen... d&d au“Guh,” Key says eventually. “Anything in the world and you pick to be a human with pink hair.”tumblr





	A New Player Enters

As the sun rises bright and orange behind the forest, spreading fuzzy, spiked shadows over the quiet ripples of the lake, a large wooden ferry raft drifts slowly out of the mist and to the rocky shore. Stopping next to the dock, the ferryman keeps his head down and his hat covering his eyes as he bends to tie his raft to a post. He wears a simple set of trousers and a loose shirt that dips low over his chest. His movements are quick and sure, like he’s done this for many years. When he stands, his stance is lazy yet powerful, relaxed yet confident. It takes a lot too throw him. Slowly, at the sound of his unknown passengers shuffling forward, he looks up. First unveiled by his hat brim is his smile, crooked and suave, and then the rest of his face, handsome and charming, comforting and reassuring, secretive and truthful. **  
**

“Good morning,” he tells his passengers. “Who first?”

An elf steps up immediately, demanding with just a look at the others that her presence be acknowledged first. Her cloak is dark, nondescript, blends of black and brown and dark greens to match the surrounding wood, but a peek of hair that she tucks back quickly marks her as much more interesting: red and orange with yellow tips. A pheonix elf. Her concealed weapons are many and her daggers are sharp, but not as sharp as her words when she snaps out a “no business of yours” when asked what her reasons for travel are. Her name she gives less reluctantly: Yavè.

Next to step onto the ferry is a beast--no, only half a beast. A humanoid form, but almost eight feet tall, with a rippling, muscular chest full of bear fur and two enormous bear arms, each ended with sharp bear claws. A rugged human head sits on top, but a bear skin coat with an empty head hood covers theirs. Through the teeth of the hood can warm brown eyes be seen, and under, a square jaw with a determined set. Their business, as they put it in a gruff voice, is to “find out who left the blood stained in between the cobblestones of my village and then get back to tuck my cubs into bed.” They are called… The Double M-C.

Third to board is a big one, a wood woad, hulking and slow, a single vibrant white flower grown behind where each ear would be. Its thick tree trunk legs make the wood of the ferry creak, but the ferryman just smiles. He’s had bigger customers before. It sits down slowly, places its huge wooden club in the seat next to it and its rough bark shield on top of that. Before it is even asked, it speaks in slow, lazy common: “I am a protector of a grove not far from a village on the edge of the woods. I’m traveling because I have friends deeper into the forest that I want to visit.” It’s grin widens slightly when it says the word “deeper.” Its name is Ace.

The fourth and last passenger to climb aboard with careful, hesitant steps is a human. He is small, shy, his tan hand holding his cloak collar over his mouth, and--

(“Wait, what?” Key’s voice snaps Jinki out of his storytelling. He blinks, frowns, then smiles immediately in amusement when he sees her frowning across the low table at Jonghyun. “You’re a _human?_ ” she asks incredulously. Jonghyun, small and shy, his tan hand holding his shirt collar over his mouth, nods. His eyes are big and round and his eyebrows are scrunched in a pout.

“Yes?” he says. “You said I could be anything I wanted.”

“And you picked to be just a _human_?” Key asks again, more insistently this time. Taemin snorts into its hand, leaning back onto its pillows with the other.

“I mean, I’m not _just_ human,” Jonghyun whines. “I’m also very very distantly part fairy. Like, just enough to have naturally permanent pink hair.”

“Wow,” Minho says, grinning in their own amused way. Jinki watches Key struggle to be both annoyed and impressed by that loophole at the same time with a growing smirk.

“Guh,” she says eventually. “Anything in the world and you pick to be a human with pink hair.”

“He’s also a cleric mage, though,” Jinki says, glancing at the little introduction and character sheet Jonghyun typed out for him. “Healing magic and animal connections.”

“Jinki, noooo,” Jonghyun whines. “You’re ruining my cool intro.” He wiggles in his pillow pile until Minho lies on top of him and kisses behind his ear to get him to stop. Now he just whines softly, hugging a plush puppy to his chest. “Stop spoiling my character,” he pouts. He gives Jinki those eyes, too, the ones that make Jinki want to bend over backwards just to give him the world.

“Alright, sorry,” he says, reaching over to let Jonghyun nuzzle his hand in acceptance. “I’ll keep going. Key, no shaming the blatant self-insert human unless you want me to point out that your character’s name is literally just “key” spelled wrong in Spanish.” Key scoffs, cheeks going pink, but she doesn’t protest. She reaches over to let Jonghyun kissie her hand in apology. Jinki smiles, always amused, straightens out his papers, and continues his read.)

The fourth and last passenger to climb aboard with careful, hesitant steps is a human. He is small, shy, his tan hand holding his cloak collar over his mouth, and his other hand around an intricate rose-colored staff even taller than he is. Like its master, it looks fragile and delicate, but when it touches the ground with every other step, the noise is loud, heavy, and solid. The human removes his hood as he sits to reveal a gorgeous cover of soft pink hair and gentle, welcoming eyes. When asked, he confesses, “I used to be a cleric under a goddess that I won’t name out of respect, but I grew skeptical of her wishes. Now I travel on my own to find out what is right according to my own heart.” His name is music off of his lips; Diphylleia Grayi. “Skell for short,” he adds.

(“Dude, that’s deep,” Taemin says. It gives Jonghyun a thumbs up that makes Jonghyun smile wide.

“Thanks,” he says. “Oh--also, I forgot to put it in--sometimes Skell uses she or fae pronouns. That’s very important.”

“Mmhmm,” Jinki hums. Of course. He types out a little note next to Jonghyun’s character stuff just to reassure him that he won’t forget, like he ever would forget.

“Ace thinks Skell is very cute and winks at him from the other side of the ferry,” Taemin says, smirking at Jonghyun and winking at him from the other side of the table. Jonghyun blinks, then grins, one eyebrow cocked in appraisal; before he can reply, Jinki rolls his eyes and tosses a spare die at Taemin.

“No flirting before the story even starts,” he scolds. Taemin just tosses the die back with a smug little grin. Jinki shakes his head and chooses to ignore that in favor of continuing the setup.)

With all four passengers on board, the ferryman tugs his rope back in and starts the journey across the lake. The early morning fog mists around them, clouding their vision, making even the sun’s bright rays seem fuzzy and muffled. The party is silent, all of them strangers, though there is a respect shared between each of them: the respect of one traveler to another. Nothing is heard except for the rustle of trees, the whispers of wind, the rhythmic sloshing of water against the ferry… until something new enters the senses.

It’s quiet at first. A low rumble, one that makes Ace look down at their oaky stomach with curiosity. But it grows louder, and louder, and a wide wave rolls under the raft, lifting it up and setting it back down much less stable than before. The Double M-C tries searching the water, but to no avail. Whatever caused the disturbance is free from perception. Another wave hits, this time bigger, and all of the inhabitants on the ferry, except the ferryman, tense with unease. The ferryman just sighs fondly.

“Another one of these days,” he smiles to himself. “Three… two… one….” At his count, the unsettling presence finally makes itself known in a great splash and a loud hiss.

A sea serpent: a small one, but still huge, at least sixty-five feet, dark and pale blue patterned scales with vengeful dark green eyes. It coils its long body around the ferry and glares down at the group, far too strong for any of them to handle. Still, they must try for their lives, so it’s with resolution that they reach for their weapons.

(“Roll for initiative,” Jinki hums then, looking at the other four expectantly. The next minute is full of startled “oh”s and much rustling to gather up dice and figure out stats.)

Ace reacts first. It grabs its shield and raises it up high and steady, club in its other hand as it prepares to brace itself for an attack. The Double M-C Growls viciously, baring both abnormally sharp human teeth and their claws in an act of intimidation. They swipe at the serpent but miss, only succeeding in gaining more of its attention. Yavè quickly draws a small crossbow from a concealed compartment of her bag and trains it on the serpent’s mouth. She’s ready to pull the trigger at the slightest sign of attack. The ferryman leans comfortably against his oar and regards the sunrise with poetic fondness.

Skell steps forward in front of them all, staff clenched tightly in his hand, and looks up at the monster. He holds his hands out wide as if to shield the others and speaks with determination.

“Please,” he says. “Do not hurt us. We are not your normal prey. Senseless violence will only lead to pain for your own soul.”

(“Jonghyun--what the _fuck_ are you doing?” Minho hisses. Jonghyun looks at them, a fresh pout on his lips.

“I’m trying to save us,” he says. “Maybe I can convince it.”

“You can’t convince a hostile sea serpent,” Key sighs. “We have to fight it.”

“Nuh uh,” Jonghyun says, petulance in his voice. “Maybe it’s just trying to get breakfast. Maybe we could--Jinki, I ask the serpent if it would be okay with waiting an hour or two for us to fish for some food for it.”

“Oh my god,” Minho groans. They flop onto their back and sigh at the ceiling. “It’s gonna eat us,” they sigh.

“Can the serpent even speak common?” Taemin asks blandly. It looks to Jinki with polite curiosity.

“Nope,” Jinki says. “Not at all.”

“Yeah, but, I’m proficient in animal knowledge,” Jonghyun says. He pokes a stat on his character sheet. “That has to count for something, doesn’t it?”

Technically yes; if this were anything other than Jinki’s scripted introduction to the real plot of the journey then Jonghyun would have a point. It definitely won’t work here, though, since Jinki’s plan was for the serpent to flip the raft, grab the four, and dump them bruised and exhausted on an unknown shore no matter what action was taken against it.

So, he figures, if that’s what’s going to happen anyway, then it won’t hurt to let Jonghyun try.

“Sure,” he shrugs. “Roll for persuasion, and I’ll say you get an advantage on it.”

“Ooh,” Jonghyun says, picking up his die with a giddy smile. “What’s that mean?”

“It means you roll twice and pick the higher number,” Minho mumbles, voice muffled into the pillow they’ve pulled over their face.

“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” Key sighs.)

At Skell’s emotional words, the serpent takes pause. It regards him cautiously, searchingly, and then, very slowly, nods.


End file.
